


To Shiver and Brave the Frost

by Sevka (TheFaultInOurHeads)



Series: Of Snowflakes and Avalanches [5]
Category: Snow Cake (2006)
Genre: Alan Rickman Tribute, Alex is good at reading people, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death Fix, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Mentions of Near Death Experiences, Related Visions, Release Party, Snapshots, Vivienne Is A Writer, Vivienne is Alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 15:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6526375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFaultInOurHeads/pseuds/Sevka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vivienne's book gets published, and Alex ponders on a recount of things that never happened. Sequel to On the Horizon (We Clear the Snow).</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Shiver and Brave the Frost

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted there to be Snow Cake fanfic. I also wanted Vivienne to not die, and Alex to not drive off into an uncertain future. This is my attempt to keep together what belongs together. The story is slowly turning rather domestic! I always appreciate feedback.

_My Little Brother_ is being published. Vivienne had told them over family dinner a couple of weeks ago, proud and utterly delighted. As it turns out, she had already been working with her publisher for quite some time, officially making her book deal the Freeman household’s best kept secret of all time.

Now, it’s the day of the launch party, and Alex is looking around the local bookshop, revelling in the relative peace and quiet pre-opening. There is a large display of Vivienne’s book in the centre of the children’s section, and a handful of copies are scattered on the regular shelves.

The mass-produced print has suffered losses regarding the book's original charm, compared to the manuscript with its ink-and-crayon smell and the fuzzy purple fabric glued to the spine. But they’ve kept Vivienne’s vibrant illustrations and given the book a spiral binding, which makes it stand out among all the other children's picture books regardless. As it should, Alex thinks. 

_Grampa read my book at the funeral_ , Vivienne’s voice echoes through his mind unbidden, and he feels a sudden shiver running down his spine. He has dreamt of that scene, more than once, ever since she confided to him the details of her near-death experience. How macabre it seems, to experience one’s own funeral while one's body and mind are trapped in a state between life and death. But Vivienne, when she told him, had put on a brave face, trying to look at the whole incident with wonder rather than fear. Even knowing her composure is mostly for his benefit, she continues to impress him day after day.

Alex still doesn’t quite know what to make of Vivienne’s visions. He catches himself wondering exactly how much of it stems purely from her imagination, subconsciously mixing what she experienced in her coma with the reality that met her upon waking up. But with every single doubt, Alex has to remind himself how Vivienne described to him things that she couldn’t possibly have known, and even just thinking about the hows and whys of it gives him a headache. He doesn’t consider himself the right person to contemplate near death-, much less potentially related out of body experiences. And yet, every time she remembers, he can see Vivienne’s carefree facade waver, just faintly dimming her usually so brilliant smile, and part of Alex can’t let go of the thought that Vivienne is telling nothing but the absolute truth.


End file.
